


Birthdays and the Things he Remembers

by OdeyPodey



Series: College Nein [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Birthdays, College AU, College Nein, Found Family, Intrusive Thoughts, M/M, Modern AU, light tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26474515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OdeyPodey/pseuds/OdeyPodey
Summary: Caleb spends the morning of his birthday in bed. Turns out, he's not as forgettable as he assumed.
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Caleb Widogast, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Series: College Nein [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923904
Comments: 5
Kudos: 96





	Birthdays and the Things he Remembers

**Author's Note:**

> No, mom, he's MY comfort character and I can choose to spend my birthday writing about h i m

Caleb laid in bed, curled into himself. Frumpkin laid in a ball on top of the pillow adjacent to his head. He had woken up maybe an hour ago, however he was unable to will himself out of his hiding spot beneath the comforter. The room was pitch black, the curtains held shut with a chair he’d taken from downstairs. He was fairly determined to hide from his housemates on that day, choosing to not acknowledge his own being and avoid confrontation. 

He could faintly hear Frumpkin purring, happily compliant with the lazy day. His laptop sat open, resting on a pillow. He’d fallen asleep for an hour, somewhere between his fourth and fifth episode of  _ Nailed it.  _ The blue light flooded over his form, just barely escaping his eyes. An eerie feeling sat in his stomach. He could only assume it was coming from his ever growing anxiety about the day ahead of him. 

Caleb shifted only slightly, reaching a hand up to carefully scratch one of Frumpkins ears. He pulled his hand back after a moment. His eyes locked with his laptop, watching yet another cake crumble in it’s spot. Something about the laughter comforted him, though he was unsure if his skepticism about the show being scripted had anything to do with the unease it brought as well. He pulled the comforter tighter around him, ignoring the buzzing from his phone.

“Who could possibly need me on a Saturday morning at five?” He mumbled, more to himself than to his cat companion.

His eyes shut again, an itch finding its way to his arms. A nervous habit brought back by the efforts of time. It was instinct to give into the feeling. The way his nails ran against his skin was soothing, keeping him locked down to earth, to his bed and aware of the sounds filling the room around him. 

He’d heard the others come and go, leaving their rooms, showers running, hushed voices creeping their way into his solitary confinement. Nobody had bothered him, which he much preferred. He could assume it was Yasha who’d been up first, it always was Yasha. She always went to sleep first and woke first, it was almost as if it was a script at this point. The smell of a distant breakfast found its way through the crack under the door, settling itself in Caleb’s nose. It caused a nauseous feeling to wash over him. It aggravated his migraine, his skin crawling from the restlessness of it all. He pressed his face further into his pillows as he itched harder, longing for relief. 

Frumpkin shifted, beginning to wake from his restful state. Caleb could just barely feel the cat slip from it’s warm spot next to him. He could feel himself slipping away, pulling away at his emotions. He wanted it to disappear, to go back to being the shell he’d been before they’d all moved in.

The sound of a gentle knock barely traveled to his ears, barely scaling the mound of blankets around him. He halted his movements, his breath stilling in his lungs. The pounding of his head almost subsided, allowing this new sensation to wash over him. The door only opened ever so slightly, the faint golden glow of the hallway sconce ran across the wood floor, seeping it’s way into his carpet. It crept into his bed, an unwanted intruder. He wanted to yell, to force the figure to leave. He wanted to be  _ alone. _

“Oh, hello there Frumpkin.” Caduceus’ warm voice drifted into the space. “You can head out if you’d like. Good morning to you too little guy.”

Caduceus? Why was Caduceus here? Caleb peeked his eyes over the edge, wincing at the bright light. The sound caused the other to look at him. The lighting did the man no justice, replacing his normally bright colors with a dull silhouette. 

“Mr. Caleb?” His voice was quiet, testing the waters. “I apologize. Did I wake you?”

“No,” Caleb sighed, pulling the blankets back over his head. Silence lingered between the two before he felt the others presence approach. The bed slightly shifted with the new weight, a cold hand touched his forehead.

“Are you feeling alright? You seem exhausted.”

“I’m fine. Just need a break.”

Caduceus sat there as he watched him, eyes scanning the figure laying close by. His eyes landed on the arm, puffed in aggravation. They hesitated to leave, Caleb could tell he was worried. He could just barely see the other offer the faintest of smiles, standing up to fix his blankets, tucking him in more. 

“I see,” Caduceus whispered. He placed a hand on the other's head. “You get some rest. If you would like anything you have my phone number. I’ll be downstairs with Molly. The others are asleep.”

“Yasha too?”

“Mhm. Yasha too. I’ll bring you some water.”

Caleb didn’t respond, curling into himself. The other left, shutting the door near silently. After a long moment the door opened again, only to close. The light was forced out, almost terrifying Caleb before feeling something cool rest on his head, soothing his migraine. Glass clinked quietly, coming in contact with wood. 

“I brought you some water and Molly suggested some of Beaus Goldfish in case you were hungry.” Caduceus patted his arm. “Need anything else?”

Caleb grunted softly in response, finally feeling down to earth. He stretched. Caduceus clearly took that as a no as he left once more. It took mere seconds to finally allow himself to drift off, the feeling of Caduceus’ hand lingered on his skin. 

-

Caleb shifted, the door opening again caused his eyes to open. His gaze was filled with Molly, who was squatting down to his eye level. 

“Caleb?” Molly reached out, pushing the hair from his eyes. “I came to check on you for Cad.”

“I’m awake. I just woke up.”

“Good. That’s good. Think you’re ready to get out of bed and at least come sit with us downstairs? You definitely don’t have to but I promise I’ll keep Veth and Jester quiet for you.”

Caleb laid there for a second before finally sitting up. A hand resting on his back for support. 

“Ja.” He sighed. “I need to do something anyways.”

“Of course. Come on down.”

He climbed out of bed carefully, feet hesitantly touching the cold flooring beneath him. He shuddered at the temperature change. Finally he stood up, following the figure in front of him to the hallway. He looked down, feeling Frumpkin brush up against his ankles.

“Oh. Hello little Schatz.” He reached down to run a hand across the fur, smiling as his eyes met the cats. 

“He’s been sitting out here waiting for you.” Molly looked at him as they made their way downstairs.

“Well then. Thank you,” he whispered to Frumpkin. Caleb carefully scooped up his friend, holding him tight to his chest. 

He made his way downstairs, a hand clinging to the railing. He shook only slightly, memories of the morning coming back to him. His feet hit the first floor, beginning to count how many steps it took him to arrive in the living room. He looked around, unsure of where the others were. 

“In the kitchen.” Molly carefully pushed past him, heading into the darkness behind the arch in front of him.

Caleb hesitated, feeling Frumpkin slip from his grasp. He watched the cat disappear as well, compelling him to follow. He entered the room slowly. His eyes suddenly had to adjust as the lights flicked on. A chorus of “happy birthday!” rang in his ears. The harmonizing was awful and he flinched at the sudden sound but he focused on those in front of him. A cake sat on the kitchen table, candles lit shone brightly despite the bright lights of the kitchen.

“What-” Caleb stood there, planted to the ground. “What is this?”

“You’re birthday cake, Caleb!” Veth smiled brightly. 

“My… birthday cake?” He moved towards them, almost in disbelief. He couldn’t quite tell if his repetition was for his own understanding or if he couldn’t comprehend what had been said to him.

“Of course!” Jester smiled. “Everyone deserves a cake on their birthday!”

He stood there, staring blankly down to it. How did they know? His eyes slowly traveled to Veth who could only stare back to him with a sheepish smile. He watched for a second before a smile tugged on his lips.

“Well then. Thank you.”

“Caduceus and Molly made the cake. Thank them.” She looked up to the taller members of the party. 

“Yeah yeah,” Beau shifted impatiently on her feet. “Come on, blow out the candles. We’ve been dying to eat this cake all day!”

Caleb smiled, staring at it before leaning down to blow out the candles. He felt some sort of pride in his chest, a warm feeling that spread quickly. Everyone looked so happy, so joyful to be in his presence. It was a new feeling that he welcomed with open arms. He stood back up slowly.

“What did you wish for?” Yasha looked at him from her spot at the end of the table. 

“Oh…. books.” Caleb looked over at her slowly.

He smiled, listening to their groans of protest as the cake knife was handed to him. He carefully began cutting the cake as he thought to himself.

_ No. But I did wish to spend the rest of my birthdays with you all by my side.  _

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO M E   
> I wanted to write something from one of my favorite comfort characters of all time for my birthday and I'm super satisfied with this one!  
> -  
> Super excited with the toning and characterization, especially being able to write this in the hour from 11 to 12 before I turned 17 :)  
> -  
> Please forgive any hiccups in here. This isn't edited.  
> -  
> A H H   
> Okay uhh h h that's it!  
> Thank you for reading, stay safe, and wear your masks


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